Collective Care
Collective care refers to care practices in which responsibility is shared across communities, local networks, and public institutions rather than resting solely on individuals or households. Mutual aid networks, neighborhood-based support systems, peer care initiatives, and community-led efforts are examples of this approach. Collective care seeks to reduce the invisible and gendered burden of care, strengthen shared resilience in the face of vulnerability, and reframe care as a collective social responsibility. These forms of solidarity become especially vital during times of crisis, disaster, and social disruption.
CURRENT STATISTICS
80%
Around 80% of long-term care worldwide is provided by family members and other unpaid caregivers. This highlights how much care continues to rely on informal networks rather than public systems.
863
MILLION PEOPLE
Around 862 million people worldwide engage in some form of volunteer work. These contributions play a significant role in sustaining community support, mutual aid, and collective care.
%57
Approximately 57% of adults globally report helping a stranger or someone they do not know personally within the past month. This demonstrates the widespread presence of mutual support and community-based care practices.
CURRENT CARE POLICIES
Care Policy Recommendations Tool
At İhtimam, we curate emerging care policy recommendations and translate them into practical guidance for different stakeholders. Select a stakeholder group and thematic area to explore relevant policy recommendations, strategies, and actions from Türkiye and around the world.
THE FUTURE OF CARE
Care Radar
The Care Radar tracks emerging developments, weak signals, and evolving conversations across the care landscape. It is designed to help us understand how care is changing and to explore these shifts through an ethical and systems-oriented lens.
Mutual Aid Networks in Times of Crisis
During disasters, pandemics, and other emergencies, neighborhood-based solidarity groups often organize quickly to provide food, medication, and care support. While these networks can respond rapidly to urgent needs, their long-term sustainability often remains uncertain once the immediate crisis has passed.
Fluid Care Roles
Collective care practices challenge the sharp distinction between caregivers and care receivers. There is growing recognition that everyone moves between both roles throughout the course of life. This perspective weakens hierarchical models of helping and emphasizes mutual interdependence.
Neighborhood-Based Care Networks
Informal networks among neighbors, friends, and local communities increasingly coordinate childcare, eldercare, and support for people with illnesses. These arrangements can offer flexible and responsive solutions, though their reliance on voluntary participation can create sustainability challenges.
Romantic Relationships as Care Infrastructure
In contexts where public care systems are weak, romantic partnerships often function as de facto sources of care security. People without partners may face greater care vulnerability, highlighting how care responsibilities are frequently concentrated within private relationships.
Growing Interest in Care Literacy
Individuals and organizations are increasingly seeking to identify, understand, and map their care networks. The invisibility of care is being questioned, and care is increasingly framed as a social skill that can be learned, practiced, and strengthened.
Recognizing More-Than-Human Care
Care networks are increasingly understood as extending beyond human relationships to include animals, ecosystems, and the material environment. This perspective broadens the ecological and relational dimensions of care.
Challenging the Marketization of Self-Care
Critiques are growing against reducing self-care to consumer-driven messages of personal wellness and indulgence. Instead, self-care is increasingly being reclaimed as a collective practice of resilience, survival, and social transformation.
Moving Beyond the Romanticization of Collective Care
Recent discussions increasingly acknowledge that collective care involves not only solidarity and support but also exhaustion, power dynamics, and significant labor. The field is moving toward a more nuanced and realistic understanding of collective care practices.
Digital Solidarity and Micro-Coordination
Messaging groups, online communities, and digital platforms are making it easier to organize care needs and mutual support quickly. While these tools can strengthen collective capacity, inequalities in access and long-term participation remain.
Peer Innovation
Mutual support networks among caregivers, older adults, disabled people, and others with shared experiences are becoming more common. Through knowledge sharing, emotional support, and practical assistance, these peer-based approaches strengthen collective care capacities.
